Blame traded in truce breach

RIVAL Libyan forces traded accusations of breaching a temporary truce in the capital Tripoli during the Muslim festival of Eid-ul-Adha that started on Sunday.

On Saturday, the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar and the rival UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) based in Tripoli said they had accepted the ceasefire proposed by the UN after four months of fighting on the edges of the city.

Haftar’s forces on Sunday accused GNA loyalists of mounting random shelling in violation of the truce.

Battalion 134, which is aligned with the GNA, however said its forces had foiled an attempt by Haftar’s troops to advance from a Tripoli suburb.

Yet the truce appears to be holding, according to sources and witnesses.

Tripoli’s residents were celebrating the four-day Eid-ul-Adha, they added.

“Calm prevailing in the capital is the best in four months since Haftar announced the start of his campaign on Tripoli,” one local said.

Haftar had ordered his forces to capture Tripoli from the GNA in April.

The fighting has since hit a stalemate and displaced thousands of people on the city’s outskirts.

The violence has raised fears of prolonging the conflict in Libya. The oil-rich country descended into chaos after the 2011 revolt that toppled longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

Libya has at least two rival administrations: the GNA government based in Tripoli, and the other in the eastern city of Tobruk, which is allied with Haftar.